A scene from the 2016 Silver Room Block Party in Hyde Park. – Spencer Bibbs

By JOSEPH PHILLIPS
Staff Writer

Eric Williams, owner of the Silver Room, 1506 E. 53rd St., will host a community meeting on Thursday, June 22, from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., to discuss “The 14th Annual Silver Room Sound System Block Party,” which will take place on Saturday, July 15, from noon to 10 p.m.

During the meeting, which will take place at the Silver Room, Williams will address questions and concerns from the community. The discussion will include information on security check points, street closures, traffic flow and the entertainment schedule.

“It’s a lot of work,” Williams said, about the behind the scenes planning process. “Planning with the city, local leaders, figuring out logistics of how to block off the streets, keeping people informed [takes] a lot of planning.”

In 2016, the block party made its successful debut in the Hyde Park area and impacted the local economy by generating over $750,000 to Downtown Hyde Park businesses.

Before the event was a huge hit, Williams started his own urban style small block parties in July of 2003 in the ally behind his store’s former location in the Wicker Park neighborhood. Since then, he has watched the event grow from extension cords connected to small speakers running through the windows of his old storefront, to a daylong event featuring food, dancing, music and various other forms of entertainment.

“Unfortunately, we haven’t released all the details yet on the event’s line up, but expect music, art, fashion shows and about 85 performances,” Williams said.